After the End
by Koinu Katsuya Shan Seto
Summary: Post series. Yami's gone, Yugi's dead, and Jou's left alone with his depression. One day after threatening someone for insulting Yugi's memory, Kaiba finds him in a tree. Is this the start of something better,or a new disaster? SK
1. I'll kill you

It's the Mutt back with more slashiful fics just for you people so I hope you like them. And by the way, this is the first fic I'm putting up that isn't a one-shot! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

**Disclaimer:** To my utmost horror, I found out just this morning from my partner that we in fact do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Then I decided to cry loudly and woefully into the pillows that my Baka-ura stole for me (they are quite comfy) until I decided to write up this fic. I only own Sasuke, even if he is mean to my dear Katsuya (Yes. Joey's real name is Katsuya. Jounouchi is his last name and I will use everyone elses Japanese names too).

**After The End**

Every head in the classroom shot up when Sasuke Ukishiro stood next to a certain blond and said, "What's the matter Jounouchi? You sad cause your midget boy-friend killed himself, the faggot."  
  
Even though it was whispered, the insult rang through the room with the same effect as a gunshot. Jounouchi Katsuya who had previously been lying his head on his desk while his hands lay in his lap, slowly sat up straight to look at Sasuke. But this was not the saddened and miserable look everyone had been expecting, this was a look that said "You've hurt me so badly that you will soon wish that you had never heard of Mouto Yugi." That's right. Mouto Yugi, Jounouchi's best friend, was dead.  
  
They all looked on as Jounouchi suddenly had Sasuke by the neck and was looking as if he was trying to make Sasuke part of the wall he was pinned against to. Almost no one had even seen him rise from his desk at all.  
  
When Jou spoke, his voice was held no anger, no pity, no thought to any consequence in his head. In fact; no emotion at all. But those who knew him, knew that he was filled with loathing as his grip tightened and Sasuke squeaked in fear.  
  
"He did not commit suicide. And if you ever say anything about him at all again, I will kill you. You understand? I will kill you and anyone else who even _hints_ that he did that. And I will do it without remorse."  
  
Jou let Sasuke fall to the floor without looking at him. Instead he turned to see Honda and Anzu right behind him. Honda's left hand was out as if to grab Jou. Anzu was just staring at him with horror and deep pain as tears flooded from her eyes.  
  
Their sensai chose that moment to walk through the door. "What's with all the ruckus? Everyone sit down so that class may start."  
  
Jounouchi didn't give an excuse or even look at the man as he walked through the door and started down the hall.  
  
Now that Jou was gone, the sensei was finally able to see Sasuke passed out on the floor, large  
purple handprints beginning to form around his neck. And with the suddenly flustered adult and many disbelieving and scared students, no one noticed as Kaiba Seto slipped out of the classroom as well.

Short, I know but don't worry, I already have two more chapters stored away. So type up and hand in those reviews kiddies (even if your older than me), 'cause Koinu needs another self-esteem booster!

And thanks to Thehotchick who gave me my first review that wasn't form someone I know personally! YAAAAAAAAAY! You get a glomp and a Bakura cookie. No there's nothing in them. Me and Bakura just made them and I made sure he didn't put anything sharp, pointy, poisonous, or anything that can harm you in anyway, in the mix. So eat up!


	2. The End

I'm putting these chapters up pretty fast if I do say so myself. That is at least compared to my last account (which weirdly enough was also with a partner) when I would update every two years. Lucky for you all. You must deal with the insanity which is CLADISSA!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Disclaimer: Nope. Still no closer to buying from the genius's that do own YGO. BLAST! Only $8 out of...well...as much as it takes until I make YGO and its cast members mine! ALL MINE!  
But anyway. This chap has spoilers for what happens at the end of the series (note the title of fic). It's not exact. More like the way I would want it to end if I had the ability to tweak it a bit. Just this chapter! Like anyone would want to kill the kawaii-ness that is Yugi. So incase you didn't notice this is a FLASHBACK CHAPTER. And there is a little Yoai-goodness in it with Yugi and everyone's fav Pharaoh.  
Woooooooooow. This is one long disclaimer...

**Chapter 2**

Yugi was kneeling on the floor crying (I don't exactly know where this takes place or what really happens so just bear with me). He just couldn't believe it. He had beaten Osiris. He had beaten his Yami.  
  
"I accept my defeat at the expense of your victory, abiou. You have beaten the gods, and I am proud of you." Without a thought to their friends around them, the Pharaoh bent down to gently pull the boy to his feet.  
  
Yugi looked up at him with bright shinning eyes as tears still stained his round face.  
  
"Are you really that happy for me?"  
  
His Yami simply nodded in answer. But then he turned to face the rest and said, "I am glad to have met such great friends and to have made these wonderful memories. I will remember what each of you has taught me throughout eternity. As I know you all will too." He trailed off and turned again to Yugi.  
  
"But this is not my life for it has ended. I have finally found my past. I go now to the valley of the kings...to my family." He looked straight into Yugi eyes as he said, "I will meet you there again."  
He then leaned down to kiss Yugi's forehead, and when he straightened up, walked to the doors that would lead home to the after-life. The Pharaoh turned for one last look and waved at what he had to leave behind. But he smiled as he saw Jou place a hand on his small friends shoulder, and almost laughed out loud as he saw Kaiba twitch.  
  
"Now those two," the Egyptian thought, "will have an interesting future. Even if Seth was my rival, he's still my cousin."  
  
One big breath was taken as he looked at the golden doors again. There was no hesitation as he said what had finally been discovered after 3000 years. His own name.  
  
"Atem!"  
  
As he started to ascend what seemed to be a never-ending staircase, and light showered over him, Jou thought he heard Yugi whisper, "I love you Atem." So when the blond looked down, he saw one last tear fall from Yugi's chin and land onto the ground as the doors were closed once again.  
  
**EXTRA STUFF:**  
  
I'm so so sooooooo sorry about the whole wait thing. My computer was bein' an arse and wouldin't let me on-line. So I had to go a whole FOUR DAYS WITHOUT ! I'm surprised I'm alive. So anyway, its time to thank the fans!  
  
**Jemmini-Chan**: (You get double 'cause you wrote two) Yes, I'm sorry to say that Jou did do that. I'm mostly going by what's been in the manga plus the rest of the show and in the anime, Jou was in a gang in high school. He was almost sent to jail! And evil rabid snow monkey vampire army of the undead? ...THAT'[S SO COOL! And don't blame my partner, she's got enough to deal with.  
  
**Jemmini-Chan: **Woof again And that's too bad. I'm a huge yaoi fan. Have been for three years since I read a fic of my now fav pairing HarryPotter/DracoMalfoy. And thanks for the complement on my writing skills. I may love to write but that doesn't always mean I know how.  
  
**goodlittlecatholicschoolgirl**: I'm glad you enjoyed the semi-fluff of "the party" and I'm sorry that the changing thing was confusing. It must have been Gail's fault! Yay my fic kicks ass!  
  
**Yami-AJ Yu-Yu-InuCaptor**: Thank youp!  
  
**The Chaotic Ones**: I'm makin' sure to put more chapters up just for all of you. And cool name!  
  
**SnakeMistress**: As for detail that's what I'm always tellin' Gail and just so you know, the next chapters way longer than this one. And I'm so happy you love it. _14 year-old-girl-squeal_  
  
**Dark-Lady-Devinity:** I thought it didin't have enough sweetness...shrug and my 'Kura says "I will send you to the shadow realm for that insult" which translates to "Thank you. I rather...like my Ryou."  
  
**Authoress formally knownas Liz:** Thank you soooo much for putting me on your fav's. It makes me feel so loved.  
  
**Kawaii-Chibi-Neko: **Oh I'm so sorry you had to run up your phone bill like that! I'll make it up to you with longer chapters. And isn't popcorn sooooo good though?  
  
**LuQ Warm Soup:** Thanks very much. And one question: Are you chicken soup?  
  
Yet again thank you all so much for the reviews and I'm trying to convince Gail to let in anonymous ones. (Gail: Yeah right...like THAT will ever happen..) So if I'm bein' to fluffy. But here are your presents now: GLOPMS AND COOKIES OF YOUR FAV YU-GI-OH CHARECTERS! YAY! DRINKS ALL AROUND!


	3. Tree Branches and Small Talks

It's time for chapter three of After The End! I hope your excited cause I know I am. Yet again the usual rules apply.

Disclaimer: Would I be doing a disclaimer if I owned this? Feel free to sue for all that I can give (besides my wonderful plots) the sum of 1 pound of lint. Who knows, maybe you'll get a penny or two if I happen to soon find some.  
This chapter is not a flashback!

Chapter 3 

When Kaiba finally found Jounouchi, it was during lunch brake and somehow Jou had climbed a tree with no branches in reach. And this was odd because if you have ever seen the two, you would have quickly noticed that Kaiba was taller. By about 6 inches. The only clue that Jounouchi was actually in the tree was that it had seemed that the tree was raining, and trying to muffle low sobs and sniffles.  
  
Calling quietly because there were other students nearby, Kaiba said, "Mutt I know your up there...But how you got up there with your dog paws I can't even begin to guess."  
  
What he got in response was a pinecone thrown at his head which the older teen easily caught.  
Because he knew that Jounouchi could somehow see him since he had had a great shot at his skull, Kaiba held his hands up in surrender, even if he himself could not see past the first few branches.  
  
"Alright, alright I get it; no more dog jokes...And how did you get up there anyway?" he asked with his interest mostly hidden.  
  
This time he got an answer. The still slightly sniffed and husky voice of Jou said, "I hooked one of my book bag straps onto a branch and used the other to pull myself up while I walked up the side of the building."  
  
Kaiba was impressed,he hadn't thought of that but then again he didn't have a book bag but his lovely silver briefcase. He was even more surprised that Jou would answer while he still sounded so...absorbed in his depression, was the closest Kaiba could come to. It even made him feel sorry for the mutt. So the C.E.O. (or should I call him the president?) of Kaiba corp. decided to ask something he had never asked anyone in his life and that he knew would probably leave a very bad taste in his mouth.  
  
"Want to give me a hand here?"  
  
And with the blondes snort in answer, he could just see Jounouchi rolling his eyes but shrugging, giving in anyway. Kaiba had always been able to read Jounouchi Katsuya. It was just another weird fact of his life in his strange relationship with the now late Yugi and his friends. But it was always Jou he could read the most. There was just something about him. He was the only person who could really get under his skin without ever being under his employment and without kidnapping Mokuba. In fact, the blond had even helped his brother.  
  
The blue eyes suddenly snapped into focus when he heard Jou's voice say, "Umm Kaiba...my arms kinda getin' tired here."  
  
And indeed Jou's hand was right in his face, so Kaiba got a good grip on his hand and put his feet up against the school building. When Jou gave a small tug on his hand, he started walking up the wall. While he was being pulled, he looked up and finally saw the mutt. Jounouchi's face was in complete concentration of what he was doing as his face started to perspire from the strain of hauling him up. And somewhere in the back of his mind Kaiba thought, 'If he drops me there will be hell to pay...' But his thoughts were unfounded as he soon found himself sitting on a thick branch in the middle of the tree. He gazed across him to the boy wiping his arm across his forehead and letting out a loud breath.  
  
"What's the matter mutt," he asked, "Tired already?"  
  
Jou only said, "What have you been doing with Yami gone, eating doughnuts? Man you gotta lose some weight."  
  
"Excuse me?" Kaiba asked, getting annoyed.  
  
"Calm down moneybags I was only kidding...a bit."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
The two sat I relative silence for about five minutes, Kaiba trying to find something to say, and Jou working up the courage to ask a question that he really wanted an answer to. They would glance at each other, wishing they knew what the other was thinking; the thought that they were contemplating the same thing, never crossed their minds (confusing sentence, ne?).  
  
Finally regaining his legendary street-punk courage (which only amounted at this moment to about what Yugi's was when he had first met him), Jou asked, "Soooo...why are you here?"  
  
Kaiba's head shot around to look at him.  
  
"Truthfully...I have no idea why I even followed you out of class."  
  
Jou looked confused and more than a little shocked. "You followed me out of class, and have been looking for me, for three periods?"  
  
Kaiba gave him a strange look. It had annoyance, anger, but also a look of humiliation.  
"Do you mean to tell me that you went back to your classes after that," he said in outrage.  
  
Jou just looked down as he dropped his hands to his lap and the older one finally got a good look at his posture. Jou was sitting with his back to the tree, his arms had previously been behind his head. One of the long legs, but defiantly not as long as his, was stretched out along the branch in front of him while the other was hanging off. If Jou was at all frightened of the height they were sitting at or the way he was sitting at that height, he didn't show it.  
  
Kaiba himself was sitting upright with his back leaning against a branch behind him. One of his legs was dangling while the other was up against his chest, his head leaning on it, and his arms wrapped around it. He was not afraid of heights. He had pushed his step-father out of a top story window without falling out himself hadn't he. Or that was the rumor.  
  
"To tell you the truth, "Jou answered after the long pause, "I came straight here after grabbing my backpack out of my locker."  
  
Kaiba took a quick scan of the other boys bag. It seemed as if he had nothing in it, and the boy himself looked like he hadn't eaten, even though he was usually stuffing his face right now.  
  
"You haven't eaten yet." he stated.  
  
"Me and Yug used to sit up here all the time after he wasn't crushing on Anzu. It was to get away from her friendship speeches. We never told Honda about it. Poor guy. This was just a place for me and Yugi..."  
  
It wasn't that Jounouchi was ignoring him. It was just that he was suddenly caught up in his memories. They had laughed all the time, played tricks on the people who would walk under them. Talk about duels, practice strategies on each other, and all the while Jou would carry on about how one day he would finally beat 'that jerk Kaiba'. Yugi had always made sure to bring enough food for three people, since Jou would almost never have the money or bring food himself, and because Jou could eat enough for himself and another. That was just the way their life was, and Yugi wasn't about to ruin the relationship with his best friend (the one that didn't share his body) with awkward questions. They had promised they would be there for each other forever. But that wasn't the case now. Yugi wasn't lost as many people referred to his death as, because if he had been lost, Jounouchi would gladly scrap together all the money he could to hire a search team, even if he had to ask the person who was now silently watching him. Yugi wasn't lost. He was gone, and Jou would never see him again even in death, for he was sure he didn't have a chance to go to where the Egyptian pharaohs flew. For Yugi was absolutely a king.  
  
"You haven't eaten anything Jou."  
  
Jounouchi turned to look at the person next to him with glazed eyes (a/n: not ears with cheese sadly Gail).  
  
"Yugi?"  
Realizing what must have been happening in the mutt's mind, the older teen simply said, "No Jou. Kaiba...Here. Eat this." (a/n: I know. Short sentences. Heehee) He was holding out a baloney and cheese sandwich.  
  
Kaiba watched as Jou's eyes seemed to clear without him even blinking. It was kind of like when he had been under Malik's mind-control. Only now, Jou wasn't about to die. But this time, Kaiba couldn't save him from drowning. Jou just continued to look intently at his eyes with no expression what-so-ever.  
  
"Come on mutt. Eat. I don't need you to die from starvation on me."  
  
Jou suddenly snapped into reality and stared at Kaiba with the more hatred that he had ever seen (a/n: and I think that that would pretty hard to accomplish). Jou had not even looked at Malik and/or Marik like this. He was almost scared when Jounouchi said in a voice that matched his look, "Don't you ever joke that that again, understand."  
  
Kaiba felt a shiver that didn't only have to do with fear go down his back, and the reason why there wasn't only fear, was because he enjoyed it. He also jumped slightly as Jou fiercely snatched the sandwich from his hand and started to wolf it down while still glaring at him.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" Kaiba said forcibly. "It's not like I said anything offensive."  
  
"Offensive! Offensive! No. What you just did goes beyond offensive. You deserve to go to hell for that!"  
  
Kaiba's eyes shot wide as he realized that he had missed something and said, "If you would be so kind as to explain why you have condemned me to hell. It would be a nice gesture."  
  
Jou looked in shock and blinked a few times before he said, "You don't know? How could you not know? But of course you were too busy to even go to there...I cant believe you haven't heard. And Mokuba didn't tell you?"  
  
With the subject of his brother suddenly brought in, Kaiba snapped out of his awe of the new seen side of what was now becoming 'the puzzle of Jounouchi Katsuya' and snarled, "What didn't Mokuba tell me?"  
  
Jou was about to answer as the bell for the next period start to ring.  
  
"Well if you want," Jou said instead as he spun his legs to the side to sit and face Kaiba. "We can talk about this some other time." As he started to slide off the branch Kaiba grabbed his wrist. Jou's head shot up to look at him.  
  
"What does my brother have to do with anything?"  
  
Jou got his balance on a branch below but still kept his grip on the others warm hand.  
"He the one in your family who went to the funeral!"  
  
"Who's funeral?"  
  
"Who's do you think you cold-hearted bastard?! Yugi's!" Jou snapped out of his rage as he realized what he had just said. Tears formed in his eyes as he looked into Kaiba's and whispered in what seemed a defeated voice, "Just let me go."  
  
"And what if I don't want to?" Kaiba's response was a surprise not only for Jou, but mostly for himself.  
  
Jou started to shake slightly he noticed, as the cold grip on his hand tightened, and Jou asked, "What do you mean?"  
  
Kaiba shook his head to try and get rid of the strange burning feeling in his ribs. He didn't like that feeling.  
  
"I want you to come to my house. Now. And explain this to me." he said as it seemed to leave.  
  
"Why?" But when Jou said that it seemed to return.  
  
"Because 1) I want to know what happened while I was away, 2) I want to know why you went ballistic over it, and 3) because you went so ballistic over the not eating thing, your coming over for lunch since I know you can eat more then a sandwich which you only ate half of before dropping it to the ground I might add."  
  
"You really do want to know."  
  
Kaiba knew it wasn't a question, but still gave a short nod.  
  
"What about school?"  
  
"You already skipped three periods."  
  
"Well...so did you."  
  
Kaiba blinked at the true statement, only just realizing that he had skipped three periods to look for the mutt. "I guess I did. So lets go instead of wasting time here. I can always teach you what the school lessons are myself."  
  
Jou looked unsure but said anyway, "Good. Now can you let go...I'm kinda afraid of heights and you've had me dangling from a high one for about 10 minutes."  
  
"Sure" was all he said as he let go of the now pleasantly cool hand and heard Jou land on something with an 'oof!' But whether he had landed on the ground or another branch he couldn't tell.  
  
Kaiba slid off his branch and climbed down the tree with a feline grace. When he landed on the branch that had helped them climb into the blasted tree in the first place, he saw Jounouchi sitting against the tree again but this time he was rubbing his ribs.  
  
"Landed on them." he said with a pained grimace.  
  
Kaiba just rolled his eyes and hoped off the branch to the ground. When he straightened up from the crouch he had landed in, he looked up to see Jou looking at him like he didn't have it in him to jump at that moment.  
  
Kaiba rolled his eyes again before he said " Come on and jump. I'll catch you."  
  
And to his surprise, Jou actually did, and was caught with ease.  
  
Kaiba blinked down at the boy in his arms. "You actually trusted me to catch you?" he asked, trying to understand why.  
  
"Yes." was his simple answer.  
  
"Why?" the brunet asked incredulously.  
  
"Cause you're the only one who came after me." the blond pup answered as he shrugged his shoulders and slid from Kaiba's arms.  
  
Kaiba didn't think that this was such a good answer but he went with it. He took hold of Jou's hand again and started to lead him to his car so that he could drive them back to his place.  
  
"Nice Mustang." was all Jou said after Kaiba had unlocked the passenger-side door for him, and the ride to the Kaiba corp...C.E.O (or president's) mansion.

**End Notes**  
  
In the manga, Serenity (Shizuka- I'm not sure I spelled her name right-) doesn't do a lovely swan-dive to save her brother. She doesn't even take off her bandages until he's safe and unattached from the anchor. It's actually Kaiba who takes Katsu's key and drops it into the water where he sank from (causing Katsuya to kind of rescue himself as well) and I think he says something like "cant let the mutt die" or something like that. 

So that's the new chapter from the puppy. Gotta go now. Gotta go "bother" Gail inta getting me a new chew toy. Maybe this time it can be Seto or Karama (from YYH) flavored! YAY!


	4. Getting past DeathT

Yay, fourth chapter! And maybe we might find out what's happening. Such as: Why and how Yugi died? Why is Kaiba making such a big deal? Is it because he wants to get into Katsuya's pants? Heehee. Sorry for the pervie moment. I've been having a lot of those lately. Will there be anymore yaoi goodness in this chap? Or maybe nothing but at the same time a little of something. Well I guess you'll just have to read and find out. After a while I decided to put this chapter and the next one together but I felt really bad about not putting up a chapter in a while since I haven't been working on any of my fics lately.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's sexxa characters. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOF!

Chapter 4

When the Mustang pulled up to the gates of Kaiba mansion, Jounouchi let out a loud breath. To him it had seemed like it had taken hours to get there (it had only taken about 35 minutes), all the while listening to Meteora (a/n: if you don't like Linkin Park then just don't say nothin' about it at all). He had been surprised when Kaiba had turned on the C.D. player to drown out the silence, and one of his all time favorite CD's was suddenly blasting through the speakers. And he was down-right gob-smacked when the brunet had tuned to him to ask if it was okay. Jou just nodded.  
Jounouchi watched as Kaiba pushed a button on the panel next to him to make his window go up (he had said he wanted it down become it had been to hot in the car). Then he pressed another which made what looked like a computer keyboard pop out of the brick wall next to the gates. Kaiba got out of the car to quickly type in some confusing code. After that some hidden speaker said to "identify". Kaiba just kept looking at the wall in front of him and said in a clear voice, "Otes." The gates silently opened as Kaiba slipped back into the drivers seat and shut the door.  
While they were driving up the drive-way, Jou thought to ask, "Why the hell is the password to your front gate, your own name spelled backwards?"  
  
Kaiba just smirked and said, "Aren't you the smart puppy." And to his surprise and enjoyment, the blonde actually growled. This would be the first time Jounouchi would hear the notoriously cold-hearted teen laugh. And it was a laugh not full of self-importance, spite, and all around nastiness, but an actual laugh as if Jounouchi had told a funny joke or story. But besides that, Jou got no further answer.  
  
They pulled up to the front-door and got out as some servant came over to ask "Master Kaiba" if there was anything wrong that should make him come home so early and if something to eat should be make for his skinny guest. Kaiba just answered that everything was fine but something had developed while he was at school, yes something should be made and sent up to his rooms, and no Mokuba should not be contacted and told not bother them when he got home but should go straight up to his room to do his homework. The servant just nodded after receiving his orders and moved to park the car. Jou said out-loud to himself, "Oow (the awed sound not the 'oh I'm in pain sound) personal valet parking. That's nice."  
  
Yet again Kaiba just smirked at him.  
  
When the two teens got to the front door Jou paused, looking a little frightened and pale. Kaiba looked a bit annoyed and almost concerned as he turned to look at the shorter one.  
  
"I'm just bein' a little stupid here," Jounouchi said shakily. "It's just that the last time I was in here your brother poisoned me-which almost killed me- and then there was that whole Death-T thing."  
  
Jou shuddered in memory.  
  
Kaiba felt a little ashamed that he hadn't thought of that particular incident which involved Jounouchi "the knight" to almost be power-sawed to death by a psychopathic killer named "the chop man".  
  
Dude he had been an evil bastard back then. That had been one-if not the most-horrible of the brunet's plans.  
  
"Look Jou," he finally said after letting out a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding, "I want to put that behind us if only for a while so that we can discuss what we came here to discuss. That is, if you feel you can."  
  
Jounouchi truly looked like a puppy while he looked at Kaiba with his head tilted to one side as he thought. He straightened up as he said, "We've already put it behind us if your using my nick-name and I haven't thrown a punch I your "lily white face" yet.##  
  
Kaiba just laughed again as he finally opened the door.

##"Lilly white face" is something that Katsuya said to Seto I think before Death-T when he was thinking that he'd rather punch him then die in Seto's games.

I know your gonna hurt me for puttin' up another so-short chapter. They seem a lot longer when your writing them in a notebook. Actually, this is the first chapter I've done only on the computer. And I haven't checked it over myself, I'm just sending it straight to Gail so that she can look it over and put it up(by the way, I don't remember if I've said it or not but since this was originally only Gail's name, I don't really want or need to put them up myself because I'd screw something up and because the "shoulder I like to gnaw on" would like to read it first. -  
And sorry. No answers for you yet. Maybe in the next one.

REVIEW TIME!  
mayu-kkg: It's a good thing you didn't miss this. Thanks so much  
  
mayu-kkg: and thank you again for reading DGWBM (way too long to put full name). I'm sorry that you almost cried about it. I didn't think that my stuff was really that good. But when I tell that to Gail she calls me a baka-mutt and smacks me upside the head.  
  
Gail: Idiot mutt! #smacks Cladi upside the head#

Kawaii-Chibi-Neko-I really am trying to get them together faster but I don't want to rush it. And I love your fics

SnakeMistress-Me too. I mean I like his sister but its just WHY DID THEY HAVE TO TAKE OUT SUCH AN AWSOME PART?! Waaaaaaaaaa

Misura: Thank you so much for your review! I'm really happy you liked it and I wasn't sure about the same thing. I was just traumatized that I made Katsu do that. And I have to say that I'm a fan of your fics but I'm not sure if you knew or not 'cause I don't review. Good at writing fics and but not at that.

Sorry if I forgot anyone!


	5. Skeletons

Yup yup yup. Time for chapter 5, which would make this my longest running fic ever...At least that is if I'm not forgetting any other ones...Oh well. And since I have yet to receive that chew toy in the ere chapter, I bought one myself. Its only cheese flavored. But MMMMMMM cheese. And BACON! WEEEEEEEEE!

DISCLAIMER: "Don't speak. I know just what your thinking, and I don't need your reasons. Don't remind me that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Don't tell me couse it hurts." Hee hee.

Chapter 5

Kaiba silently lead Jounouchi through the house as he took in everything with awe.  
_'Daaaaaaamn. It wasn't as nice as this the last time I was here....But that might have been because I was only in the tremendous front hall, some sort of humungo dinning room, and then the room I was staying in. And that was all on the FIRST FLOOR! .......... Now where did Kaiba get to? I was kinda enjoyin' the way he walks as if he's the lord of the world...WERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM!'  
_  
Jounouchi jogged down the hall in a panicked silence. Then he ran as he turned to another. He began to sprint after the seventh, and started calling out for Kaiba. "Kaiba, ya shit-head, where da hell are ya!? I'm gonna kill ya if ya just left me here! Come on already! I DOUBT YOU'LL WANNA FIND A FUCKIN' SKELETON ONE OF THESE DAYS!"  
  
Jou heard quiet footsteps through his screaming, and thanks to his high alertness and the adrenaline rush from the panic, he latched an almost crushing grip onto a part of someone's arm behind him.  
  
"Damn you Jououchi. You ruined the whole surprise." came Kaiba's voice from behind him.  
Jou spun quickly to see that indeed it was Kaiba's wrist he was about to brake, but in his surprise did not lessen. Apparently, the brunet had been about to pull the old sneak-up-behind-someone-and-say-"BOO" trick.  
  
When Jou's breathing began to slow, he saw Kaiba slightly wince and wondered what was wrong so he asked. Kaiba looked at him with a strange look on his face and said, "Since you have perhaps finally accomplished to break a bone or two of mine, would you please let go of my wrist."  
  
Jounouchi's eyes went wider than Mokuba's when he realized what he was doing and quickly dropped Kaiba's arm. Kaiba winced again as he gently held it in his other hand. Jounouchi immediately felt bad. Worse than he did when he had had that quick trip down memory lane in the tree. He wanted to make up for it so he motioned for Kaiba to give him his hand so that he could look at it. The cerulean eyes looked like they had somehow turned into ice cubes at the gesture and said scathingly, "What the hell could you do you stupid dog besides do even more damage to it?"  
Jou ignored the insult and said, "Look Kaiba, I know how to check if it's broken and if it is, I'll try to do something to fix it."  
  
The eyes turned into icebergs.

"Look. I know I'm not one of your marvelously trained doctors that can help with physical injuries-and not the problems of the shadow realm if you would care to remember. But I've been in enough fights to have learned how to take care of simple things like setting a broken bone if I have the right stuff. And that's without the experience from all the gang fights that I've been through in my short years. SO STOP BEIN A BASTARD AND GIMMIE YA HAND!"  
  
Kaiba's now glacial-but beautiful-eyes quickly melted into a not exactly warm but still not chilly look. He nodded as he placed his wrist in Jounouchi's now outstretched hand, and watched in amazement as Jou looked at his wrist which was now turning a slight purple and green with that returning complete concentration.   
  
He looks good when he's concentrating like that. Maybe I should ask him to help me with something else. Kaiba thought without really thinking as his pants began to feel tighter (the reason why Jou doesn't see this raging hard on is because of the new lovely and flowy, trench coat coincidently covers his crouch.).  
  
"Kaiba are you okay? You look kind of flushed. Do think you think your coming down with something?" He heard Jou say as a now familiar hand was placed on his forehead. To his surprise it was still cold even though his house (if you could degrade it to that title) was pretty warm.  
  
Kaiba shook his head as if there was some bug flying around it and started walking as he said in a strained voice, "I'm fi-ahem-I'm fine. It's nothing. Forget it."  
  
Jounouchi looked a little skeptical as he started to follow but just said, "Sure Seto. Whatever you say."   
  
Kaiba was sure his eyes were taking over his face as he thought he heard something that defiantly was not a mistake, but could also defiantly not have been said.

"Did you just call me Seto?" he asked stopping dead.

"It is your name isn't it? And no, I didn't." Jounouchi lied without blinking an eye as he also stopped to look at "Seto".  
  
Kaiba didn't reply, so Jou thought he'd get things moving again by saying, "So since I've been wandering aimlessly about your halls, I've worked up quite a sweat and am now quite hungry since I have been deprived of food since lunch yesterday so lets hurry up and get to this master bedroom of yours."  
  
The brunet once again took the lead but something was racing through his mind. Had Jou just said that he hading eaten since yesterday? What was that about? Well, being the person that he was, he came right out and asked without turning around because he knew if he did the response would be worse.

"What did you mean by being deprived of food?"

"It's nothing." Jou didn't even stop walking, but Kaiba decided to press on with it.

"No, I want to know."

"There's no need for you to know. And besides, we have to fix that sprained hand of yours." (Yes, our beloved Seto was being a baby over a sprained hand. But I bet that he was complaining more about the bruises.)  
  
Kaiba could practically feel the now building anger radiating off his shorter classmate. He had always relished riling him up because for some strange reason, he enjoyed watching Jounouchi's eyes go from that lovely kind of chocolate brown (a/n YAAAAY! I finally have a reason for chocolate to make it's honorary guest-appearance in this fic) to the most amazing imitation to burning amber the young president of KC had ever seen.

"But I want to know, since because me saying something about it landed us here in the first place." he said turning around so as not to miss a single second of that color.  
  
"I told ya dat there's no need for ya to know. NOW SHUT DA HELL UP AND LEAVE ME DA FUCK ALONE!"  
  
Jou saw one side of Kaiba's lip curl up and it took him a moment to realize what it was. Kaiba was smiling. AT HIM!

"Did you know," Kaiba started to say, with that smile still in place, "that when you get angry you slip into that accent of yours."  
  
Jou blinked a few times before he finally said mostly to himself, "Damnit. I thought I had finally gotten rid of it."  
  
He looked to be in a mild state of mind when he mechanically started to follow Kaiba who had resumed walking.

"You shouldn't try to get rid of it," the host said to him without looking back. "At least not all the way. It would be good to have something stay the same. Even if it is only once in a while."  
  
Jounouchi didn't know what to say, so the two walked in silence until Jou bumped into Kaiba's back and landed on the floor only to be cushioned by his own buttocks.

"Jeez," Kaiba said as he held out his good hand and helped Jounouchi up, "if I had known that you wanted to be that close to me, I would have invited you here earlier."

Jou growled deep in his throat as he tore his arm away and started to dust imaginary dust off himself, but looked up again as Kaiba did that wonderful laugh that he showed he did have in him in the car. And he opened the door leading to his room, the part of Jou that hit the floor this time was his jaw.

The only word that could be used to describe this room was...wow. And as a matter of fact, that's all Jou could get out even after five minutes of just staring.  
  
"You can come in you know," Kaiba said as he stood in the middle of the room, a slight uplift of his lips showed that he was amused. His injured wrist was now long forgotten even if it was slightly bruised. "Just as long as you don't chew on the furniture."

Kaiba heard him aim a growl at himself while Jou proceeded to finally take in the room's beauty, for it was indeed beautiful. A powder blue carpet stretched the whole length of the room which seemed to him the size of the apartment he shared with his father (Its not, our cute puppy is just in a daze. I mean come on HE'S IN SETO BEDROOM! Squeal!). The walls were a shade of sea-green and it gave Jou the feeling that the world had been turned upside-down, that is until he looked up. He gasped pretty loudly and stood in awe of the mural that had been painted. It was of course, covered with dragons. Every single dragon in the elder Kaiba's deck seemed to be eternally painted in all their splendor on this teenager's ceiling. And of course in the middle were three Blue-Eyes White-Dragons, and they were really white, not that weird tint of metallic blue as on the cards (a/n: I never got that). They were also notably bigger than the rest. But the thing that shocked him the most was what they seemed to be circling. It was a Red-Eyes! And they didn't seem to be attacking the mismatched dragon as much as protecting it.

"So you noticed did you?"

Jou jumped at the sudden voice beside him. He turned to look at Kaiba who was indeed standing very close to him, but had his head raised to look at the mural.

"But-"  
  
"Why? You really want to know?" Kaiba asked as if it was some intense reason that Jou wouldn't get even if he said it as monosyllabic as possible. The blond just nodded.  
  
"Well if you really want to know."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You sure you can deal with the information?" Jou's blood started boiling.  
  
"Would ya just spit it out already! Jeez...why do ya gotta be such a prick?"  
  
"You slipped again. But anyway, I decided to put it up there because..." Kaiba trailed off, being uncertain as how to word the right response.  
  
"Was it because of something I did...or does it just have to do with your Dragon obsession?"  
  
The older one still couldn't think of how to word it, but because he didn't want to seem moronic, he asked, "Do you remember the duel between the two of us on Alcatraz Island (A/N: this is what its called in the manga, its where the battle city finals were held...although I'm not sure that this particular duel was only in the anime. Sorry)?"  
  
"How could I forget any duel with you? You always seem to find the best ways to get under my skin and the right force when you kick me to the ground."  
  
Kaiba ignored everything past the first sentence. "In that duel, you achieved something that almost on one ever has. And I have to admit, the understatement of this life is that I was pissed."  
  
"Why? What did I do?" Jou asked in complete obliviousness. He had no idea that he had just been looking at the reason.  
  
"In that duel, you succeeded in taking one of my Blue-Eyes from me, even if it was just for a while. I decided I would respect that and put your favorite monster with mine. And don't give me that crap about your Flame-Swordsmen. I know you used to like him best but ever since you...died, the Red-Eyes has been your favorite. Plus I didn't think putting the Flame-Swordsmen there would go with the overall theme."

Kaiba finally looked down from the ceiling to glance at his companion, if Jou could be called that. What he saw immediately were amber eyes boring into his, as if they had already been observing him for a while, and they had been.  
  
"But what about Yugi and Atemu's favorite? Or even Pegasus?" Jounouchi asked slowly, trying to stop the anguish he felt from coming out in his voice. Kaiba didn't look at him when he answered.  
  
"Well I hate Pegasus with every fiber of my being, Atemu I felt wouldn't appreciate the gesture even if I was his cousin, and Yugi..."  
  
"You still hated them both at the time anyway."  
  
" I didnâ€™t hate them Jounouchi, they were rivals (A/N: in the manga Seto knows about their being two "Yugiâ€™s" since before the rest of the gang did. They found out during Death-T that was mentioned in a before chap.) and I was envious of them because then I thought that they had taken something from me...And this brings us back to the main topic of discussion: what happened to Yugi? I want to know everything."  
  
"If you want to know everything then we'll be here till Christmas, and I would make you buy me a present."  
  
"Well I do want to know everything everything (A/N: yes there is meant to be two everythings) , but for now I'll settle for what happened from the time of Atemu's passing on to...well...whenever you think you should stop."  
  
Jounouchi was silent for a while, for how long neither teen could tell, it could have been minutes or hours of the suffocating silence that reeked of the blonde's depression, or his weariness, of his weakness, of his loneliness, and of his fear to tell the full tale. He sat down without waiting for permission on the king-sized canopy bed that was also covered in blue, only this time it was deeper, like the blue of the Dragon Master's eyes. But nothing would ever compare to them in Jou's mind, and at the time he ignored that.

He rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands, his guilt hair covered his face so that Kaiba could not see it. But he knew what was going on in his head. He knew that Jou was wondering if he could go through it again, all the painful memories that had left fresh scars on the already battered boy. The brunet knew how that felt, and was relived once again that he wasn't the only one with a broken childhood. Yet at the same time he felt sadness for the different kind of pain that Jou had been through than his own. And guilt that he hadn't exactly made the life of the boy now sitting on his bed with the shaking shoulders any easier.

He slowly walked over to the boy on his bed and was soon again beside him, sitting on the bed.

"If it makes any difference, I can understand how this must be for you. Not that I'm lying by saying that I've gone through the same thing, but that I understand that we both know that the lives the two of us have lead have been all that easy."

Still there was silence. But it wasn't as before. Yes the air was still charged with the tangle of Jounouchi's emotions, and now Kaiba's, but...they both knew something else. Something between them had changed, something small, but important. They now had a minimum level of trust but it was more than either boy had with anyone, including their own siblings. They were both a little shocked that words had somehow suddenly come from Jou's mouth.

"This particular story starts with a love between two people, one already dead, and one soon left behind. The story ends, with the usual hero dying in the most spectacularly stupid way ever."

Lately it seems that I have something with Katsu-ko giving people excruciating bruises. And in pretty colors too (this chap. and chap.1 if you remember). Plus...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! IT'S THE PURPLE DINOSUR! In the background a melody starts to play #I love you. You love me# "Remember, I love you"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

BAKURA, SETO, KATSU! SAAAAAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEE! eep

I hope that this chapter is long enough to semi-satisfy your cravings of yaoi. I know I shouldn't be moving the two together this soon but they are just so KAWAII together. But it doesn't really matter cause I still want them to have to hate each other first...Or maybe one will be horribly confuzzled and then get mad. And before I think about a next chapter I'd like to say that I have no particular plot with this. I just came up with the idea that Yugi would be dead and then there would be some yaoi-yummy-goodness. So there might be long waits in-between chapters cause I don't like to post without already having another behind it ready to go.  
  
Sorry if I'm rambling. It's like 2:43(interesting number) in the morning and I know Gail's gonna get me for it.

Koinu: I ENJOY YOUR SUFFERING OF NO ANSWERS YET!  
  
Ha ha! You don't know what happened to Yugi yet. I pity you pour souls...but my Baka-ura doesn't. So would you please laugh manically for me, babe?

Bakura: Sure. You know it's my specialty. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA  
MUHAHAHAHAHA  
MUHHAHAHAHAHAAAA cough cough

Koinu: Aw. Is your throat still hurting from when you cursed out the pharaoh?

Bakura: ...yes.

Koinu: - silly head.

Bakura: But...I thought you liked my hair.

Koinu: OF COURSE I DO. NOW LET ME BRUSH IT! MUHAHAHAHAHA

Bakura: is not affected by laugh Hmm shrug just as long as you don't braid it again.

Koinu: ...suuuuuuure Kura...

Sorry for waiting so long to update. I had half of this chapter and the chapter before this done in Aug. but due to school I haven't had time to put them up (because I'm just lazy). And I think I'm screwin' with the rule that says I have to have the next chap. written before I send in the last. It just makes things too confusing and leaves me guilt ridden.

AND THANKS TO ALL YOU THAT REVIWED! Sorry I cant name you all but I want this up to make you all happy. And for any spelling messes blame Gail, she's the BETA!


	6. Truths

Yaaaaaaaay! Its chapter six time and I hope that this one will be a long one (because I just write 'em and then send 'em to Gail. No beta-ing by me whatsoever! At least…not usually). And maybe in this chapter we will finally find out what happened to poor kawaii Yugi. sad moment Beware the trap of non-mentioned flashbacks (but technically they aren't since I said them here)! Brace yourselves for a long bumpy ride of a chap.

DISCLAIMER: 

Koinu: asks Gail Do I own them now?  
Gail: Nope.  
Koinu: Do I own them now?  
Gail: No  
Koinu: How bout now?  
Gail: NO  
Koinu: …How-  
Gail: NO! YOU DO NOT OWN THEM STUPID MUTT, SO GET USED TO IT, DAMNIT!  
Koinu: Actually…was gonna ask how they get the ship in the bottle but now that you say that… Can I ask (the male) Katsuya over for dinner? OH OH OH! AND THEN CAN HE SLEEP OVER? CANHECANHECANHE!  
Gail: bangs head against random door

Chapter 6

They all stood just staring at the door that had taken away one of their best friends. Each one dealt with the loss with a different kind of pain. Except for two of their number, everyone was lost in their own grief. Yugi slipped from Jounouchi's grasp and fell to the floor sobbing and gasping for breath. The young tri-haired teen simply sat there with his large violet eyes, the most shadowed of all, and gazed hard at the ground. "Is this my own death? Or could this be the shadow realm?" he thought out loud. When Jou heard this he quickly fell to kneel on the floor and gathered his small friend in his arms, holding him tightly against his chest. It took awhile for Kaiba to notice that Jou was rocking Yugi slowly while petting his spiked hair, trying to get him to calm down enough to breath right. The blond's lips were also moving but Kaiba knew there would be no words, for what could the mutt possibly say? That is why he was startled when he heard his soft voice free of tears say, "Lets go home, Yugi." To the brunet's surprise they were suddenly engulfed in light, so much that he had to close his eyes. When he opened them, Yugi was still in Jounouchi's arms, now crying silently. Honda stood in the same position as he had been in when he had said goodbye, head down, turned to the side with his eyes closed. Only now he had his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. Anzu was hugging herself while quaking. Kaiba could tell she was far gone as he saw her lips moving as Jou's had, only she was talking, only to herself. He could hear snippets of it such as "…He's gone…not coming back…he was mine…not a real goodbye". She soon fell and stayed on her knees on the polished marble floor of the museum. The flumping sound she had made as she landed snapped Honda out of his inner thoughts and he went to her. He knelt to grasp her shoulders. No could have guessed how she would react. As soon as his fingertips touched her, she shot up into a sitting position and gave Honda the most hateful and searing glare he had ever seen. "You're not him," she whispered heatedly. "Don't you dare touch me. Your not him." She slowly rose to her feet and backed herself against the life-altering tablet.

"He's not gone!" She shook her head back and forth rapidly as she started to scream. "I won't let him go! He can't be gone!" The sound of footsteps broke Kaiba out of his observation of the girl and he turned to see Isis. "It seems that this chapter has finally ended," she said in her misty voice. "It is time for you all to move on, but never to forget." Anzu suddenly stopped shaking and looked up to glare at the Egyptian women. "How dare you speak that way? You didn't know him," she accused. "How can you possibly say that I should move on! He came here for me! Atemu was meant for me! Myself! I loved him! Damn that Millennium Puzzle! It-." She suddenly snapped her head to look at Yugi who was still hyperventilating. When she saw the glint of the Millennium Puzzle, her eyes took on a maniacal look. She suddenly ran up to the boy, grasping him tightly by his shoulders out of Jounouchi's grasp and started to shake him violently. "You have the puzzle still." She seemed to be losing it. "You still have it. Switch with him. Bring him back. ... Damnit you little brat, bring him back!" SMACK! Kaiba's eyes opened widely in shock as he saw Jou now standing there with his hand raised and breathing harshly. His normally warm mahogany eyes seemed to have turned black in anger and hatred. He had slapped Anzu. When he started to speak, it was with a scathing tone that sent shivers down the three that were coherent back's. Kaiba could now understand why Jou had once been one of the most feared gang members in Domino.

"If you ever say anything like that again Mazaki, I will be forced to terminate our friendship. You know what friendship is don't you? You only go off at the mouth about it any chance you get since no one pays attention to you 'cause you can't duel for shit. If you could stop thinking about yourself for one FUCKING SECOND, you would see that Yugi has lost a hell of a lot more than you, you stupid bitch. HE JUST LOST HALF OF HIS SOUL! And if you don't get that…then you have to be the most heartless and stupid person I have ever met. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna take Yugi home."

Suddenly he turned to look at Kaiba. "Do you mind if we bum a ride? I really don't think I should leave him alone, and even if he was in any condition to do so, I still wouldn't let him on Honda's bike."

Kaiba blinked slowly, then finally he processed the question and answered, "Umm sure mutt. Just carry him out and I'll show you where it's parked."

Jou nodded and bent down to pick up Yugi. Before this Yugi had simply been watching his friends arguing with a total nonchalant attitude. If fact, even when Anzu had attacked him he had just sat there silently. He had been trying to get into his own head to look for the pharaoh's soul room, but no matter how many times he tried, he found that he had lost the ability. He kept trying even as he was carried by Jou who was following Kaiba past Isis, Honda, and Anzu who just sat there staring after them in contempt.

Both teens were silent on the walk from the museum to Kaiba's ride until Kaiba unlocked the passenger side-door of his Jaguar and opened it for Jou (Jou had already laid Yugi on the back seats).

"You didn't have to do that you know," Jounouchi said as he looked at the ground while Kaiba walked round to the drivers side.  
"I know that." Jou looked up at him. "Now are you getting in the car or not, mutt?" Just as Jou was about to make a retort that was basically telling Kaiba just how far a moneybag could have something shoved up its ass, he noticed that Kaiba was smirking as he slid behind the steering wheel. But what made him close his mouth and sit down was not that he was doing it, but it almost seemed as if…as if the cold-hearted bastard was almost smiling. And that almost made Jou start to believe that the other was human. "Good boy. Now close the door."

'Almost being the key word,' the pup growled to himself as the door shut with a slam.

A week later, Jou was making himself a sandwich as he waited out the long (but thankfully peaceful) hours for his father to get back from the bar. Maybe today he would make it out of the apartment before his old man got in a good punch or three. Maybe today his dad had actually gone into work instead of degrading himself to take his beer money once again from his own child….Maybe Yugi would be better today.

Yugi hadn't been seen by anyone since the night Kaiba and Jou had brought him home to a solemn and understanding grandpa. The old man knew what must have happened and tried to offer comfort to the two teens, but Kaiba being who he was left instantly while Jou just turned his head to stare blindly at the nearest wall. The owner of the Kame Gameshop soon got the picture and wished Jou a goodnight before adding "That Kaiba boy should buy himself some manners".

When Jou walked out the door, he was surprised to see the brunet was still there, leaning against the side of his car, with more mist then was normal coming from his mouth for the November air.

'It cant be that cold yet' the blond thought, and as he walked closer he saw that the young president of Kaiba Corp. was holding a cigarette by his hip while exhaling a cloud of nicotine and all that other good stuff (note the sarcasms) into the now darkening evening sky.

"Didn't…know you were left-handed," Jou said awkwardly as he glanced at the cigarette, and was startled by how soft his voice was.

The brunet took one last drag and then flicked the burnt out stick to the ground to stub out with his toe.

"There's a lot that people don't know about me," he said as he straightened up to look at the younger boy. "And I'm not about to start listing all of my actions for you."

There was a moment of silence before he added, "Well do you want a ride or not?"

Jou could only blink in confusion. Why was he doing this? Was losing his greatest rival really that unhinging?

"Its cold. Come on and get in."

Jou was lost for a second until he said, "Well of course your gonna get cold. I mean after smokin' dat ting," he gestured to the ashes on the ground. "I mean you of all people have gotta know dose ain't too healthy."

Kaiba took a deep breath before saying, "Like I said, what I do is not the business of anyone but myself. And besides, I doubt I go through more than a pack every two weeks or so."

Jou said nothing as he walked closer to the car.

"I really would like da ride, but I cant take ya up on ya offer." Of course he couldn't. How would he possibly be able to look Kaiba in the face after the older one had seen his apartment building. But hey, it was the best he could afford.

Kaiba shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey its your call. Just don't ever tell anyone I offered it."

He slowly turned to open one of the back doors as if to retrieve something. He straightened up again and walked towards Jou. When he was standing directly in front of him, the blond wondered when it had gotten so cold that he now had goosebumps. But that was soon remedied as Kaiba lifted a sort of large something and draped it over his shoulders. He looked away from the shorter one as he said simply, "Your lips are turning blue."

Jou realized that he must have left his school jacket at the museum at some point. He hugged the small blanket tighter to him as he watched Kaiba get into his car and drive away without another word.

Jou was shaken out of his memory when he heard the phone ring. He made a wild grab for the ringing menace that hung by a far away cabinet. He succeeded in grabbing it but ended up falling to the beer-can ridden floor with a crunch. 'Ouchie,' Jou thought as he said, "Moshi moshi. This is the younger Jounouchi speaking, how may I help you?"

"Jounouchi-kun?" he heard a quiet sort of rasping voice. But there was only one person who called him that.

"Yugi-kun?" he asked worriedly. "Dat you?"

"Hai Jou. I wanted to apologize to you." he continued to whisper.

" 'Dare's no need ta apologize man," Jou insisted. "I understand that this hasn't been the best week for ya."

"That's not what I meant Jou-" Yugi said. He sounded even weaker.

"Tell ya what; why don't I come over right now and we can play some games?"

"No…Jou…"

Jou's eyes widened when he heard the phone hit the floor.

'Yugi,' was all Jou had time to think before he grabbed his keys and ran out the door, forgetting his jacket. He ran down six flights of stairs to the small parking lot where his motorcycle (that his friends had saved up to get him for his seventeenth birthday) was parked. Jou practically leaped on the thing and was down the street in seconds.

"I'm comin'…Yug'. I'm comin'," he thought out loud as he rode down the streets, his hair wiping in his face, eyes watering as he went almost 15 miles over the speed limit. The ride only took ten minutes but it felt like numerous eternities.

He almost ran the bike to the door before jumping off and started ringing the doorbell as if it could have saved Yugi.

When Yugi's startled grandpa opened the door Jou ran past him to the stairs in the back room that lead to the Motou's apartment. When Yugi's grandpa yelled "What's wrong?", Jou only whispered one thing as he tried to open the bedroom door of his best friend.

"Yugi."

It looked as if his best friend had locked his door. But that wasn't going to stop Jou. He quickly backed away and then slammed his shoulder into the door. He did this four more times until the door broke and he was able to get to his broken friend.

"Yugi."

The tri-haired youth must have been sitting on his bed when he had called, because now he was laying sideways upon it on his face as his legs dangled off.

Jou quickly kneeled on the floor next to the bed as he rolled Yugi over. He didn't notice the old man standing in the doorway. Nor did either see the Egyptian called Shadi in one corner, with his hand on the shoulder of an equally transparent Yugi who had tears running down his face in both sadness and shame as Jou looked at his body.

Yugi's clothes seemed to be falling off his already small frame which was now even thinner. His face was a ghostly white with his cheeks and eyes shrunken in. But what was even worse, was when Jou held the back of his hand to Yugi's mouth. It was dropped in an instant as he swiftly stood and backed into the corner opposite where Yugi and Shadi stood.

"He's not there anymore." he whispered quietly, but what he said shocked everyone in the room, living, dead, and the in-between.

"Where are you Shadi? I know you're here. You have to be. It's your job to judge the dead! So where the hell are you-"

Jou gasped and his eyes widened as he slid to the floor.

"He's…Yugi's…gone."

The blond stared hazily at the small body as he walked to sit on the bed to once again. He gathered his friend in his arms to clutch him to his chest, running a hand through the slightly greasy hair.

"Yugi…," he called to his friend. "You're so cold, but are you happy now? Are you with your aibou? I really hope so…if it made you turn so cold…"

Yugi turned to Shadi as if to the question if his dream was about to come true. Shadi offered a little smile and a slight nod. That was all he needed. He turned back to see that Jou had laid his head against the top of the head that had once been his with his eyes closed. He could also hear his friend singing under his breath. It took a moment to recognize it. It was the pharaoh's lament that they had heard in Atemu's memories.

Without even asking if it was allowed, Yugi ran to the boy to wrap his arms around him the best he could. Shadi gasped at the unexpected move and quickly moved to grab Yugi away.

"No!" Yugi shouted. "I want to- I want him to know- Goodbye-I have to say goodbye!"

A/N: I really didn't mean to make Anzu seem so bitchy in this...well maybe a little. I like Anzu, it's just that her wardrobe and (in case you hadn't noticed) her friendship speeches get to me. But I also wanted to portray a side of her that's in the manga, that she can stick up for herself when she needs to, and also that she really does seem to "love" Atemu. She even went so far as to go on a ferris-wheel that had a bomb on it to get him to come out of Yugi to save her (this is also one of the reasons I don't like her, she's just too overconfident to get what she wants). And I also wanted to show a little glimpse of what Katsuya was like before he even was really friends with Honda (and even a bit while), but perhaps I'll do background chapters on characters to show everyone that they aren't just for kid-show entertainment. I especially want to do that for Katsuya and Seto 'cause it seems to me that they had two of the hardest childhoods (the others being Malik and my King-of-thieves Bakura and perhaps Ryou because of sexy Kura…not so much though) in the group. And also with the song that Jou sings, it didn't happen. I just thought it would be the right thing to put in at the time.


	7. Things revealed

Hey! Its Koinu Katsuya finally back in action after her long period of woe. So finally, with the purchase of a laptop from her birthday money (its great when you get close to a thousand for your 16th birthday couse no one in your family knows what to get you), Koinu is now, rewriting this chap for the 50th time to finally upload it foooooooooooor you; The dear people fans of it who have waited years for this. It's not as long as it should be for that absence and for that I am sorry. So here we go, unlucky #7!

By the way "_italics_ means that it's English being spoken"!

Chapter 7

Jounouchi hadn't moved from the spot on the opulent bed where he had started his story from. But instead of the straight-backed and proud as usual, Jou was now hunched over with his elbows on his knees with his face in his hands. His shoulders were shaking. If it had been anyone else, Kaiba would have thought they would have been crying. But Jou wasn't like other people. Jou cried when he was happy, extremely happy (which at this point had only been two or three times and had been over his sister who he knew meant as much to Jou as Mokuba meant to him) or frustrated with himself, when he felt like he couldn't help anyone.

Jou never showed his sadness. Kaiba knew this for a fact. Jou, instead of whining about it like normal people would, he either store it away, or turn those emotions of sadness and helplessness into those of an exploding rage with a wide radius of destruction. When the blond was like that no one was safe, so he often had to walk by himself for sometimes hours at a time to calm down. This is what Jou did now, only being in an enclosed space (even if it was somewhat big) like this, made him believe that he couldn't escape and therefore could not leave to control himself.

Jou slipped his hands into his hair to clench it in a white-knuckled grip, then without warning slid to his knees onto the floor. There he once again was hunched over and released the death-grip on the dirty locks and released all the anguish he had been bottling up since the duel between Atemu and Yugi. With every word he screamed, he pounded his fist into the floor, gradually making a dent and leaving behind dark red stains that were later hidden when Kaiba moved his bed in an unnoticeable way over them.

"He jus' gave 'imself up at death! 'e never even said nothing at no one! 'E jus' gave up! 'e didin' have at go! Damn Shadi! Why'd you take him from me? Damn his gramps. 'E knew what had happen'! 'e didin' even think at check on em! _NO ONE DID ONE DAMN FUCKING THING__!" _

Jou stopped after the loudest explosion, folding his arms over the dent he had made to lay his head on them. He was still shaking, only now he was shaking so hard he had Kaiba wondering why he hadn't pulled or broken something from the violence of it. He had never seen the mutt lose it to the point of putting a hole in the floor. The wall, or a door, or maybe even breaking a window. But never had the younger boy been so upset that he couldn't do those things because he hadn't the strength in his legs to stand.

Even though seeing all that _had _been interesting and surprising that _he_ would be the one to witness it rather than Honda or Ryou or whoever else, the thing that had interested him the most was that through his rant, Jou had slipped into English as if it was his mother language. Also, Jou spoke it without any kind of slang, and if Kaiba could place it from all his different business affairs in the states, he would have to sound like Jou had learned that language from somewhere along Manhattan or perhaps Long Island. How or why Jou knew English Kaiba didn't know and wasn't sure he wanted to, because if there was one thing he knew about the mutt, it was that he would only learn something if he felt it was necessary. In other words, he hadn't learned it in school.

"Listen," Kaiba said as he sat up straighter on his bed. "It's no use saying 'why' or 'what if'. You can't change what did or did not happen. No matter how hard you think about it, it won't ever change the past. The only thing that can be proven no matter which way you look at it is that Yugi was weak. Without the Pharaoh he was weak."

Jounouchi looked up. He wasn't sure if he did it in order to throw back some half-assed retort or to listen better, but when he saw the brunet he picked the second. Kaiba's body was now facing him, but his head was turned as if he was glaring blankly at the wall. Seto understood that the only way to get the other to take what he was saying seriously was by not looking at him. He knew that the mutt thought that he would never take him seriously unless he was talking to something _else._

"Think about it. Yugi was with the Pharaoh for three long years, as another part of his very mind and soul," Kaiba wondered if that made him skitzo. He still hadn't turned to Jou, but his hands tight together in front of him, and his body was bent, as if accepting a long awaited defeat. "To have _any _part of your mind suddenly ripped away is painful, if not _the_ most painful experience ever. They were two different people, and yet whole, as one. Simply put, Yugi _alone_ was weak."

Jou of course knew this, he just needed to be reminded by someone who understood the boy as much as he did, and with Yugi gone it was freaky but kind of logical that that person would be the taller boy.

Jou slowly and shakily got to his feet and turned to the brunet, but before he could say anything at all, there was knocking at the door. It seemed to Jou that that first knock was loud as if to gain attention, while the second was done softly as if to apologize for the interruption. One of the large doors opened soundlessly as a nameless servant walked in carrying a large tray of food with everything from small sandwiches of many different kinds to sweet fruits and vegetables. It was on a wide low table in the middle of the room. The silence stretched on as the servant left with a deep bow to his employer and closed the door to once again enclose the two young men together. Kaiba motioned for Jou to sit and eat as he himself rose from the bed to partake in the food.

Over the next 45 minutes or so, Kaiba tried not to comment on how little Jou was actually eating, or how much he would have successfully have hidden in every pocket if he had not been sitting across from the particular teenager sitting across from him. There where many pockets to Jou's current outfit, more than any normal person would have or see or use. Kaiba was almost impressed by the ingenious of the many hiding places (there were even very thin small ones in the lining of his jacket which he hadn't taken off and the collar of his shirt which would have definitely been spotted if it hadn't been turned down) and probably would have been if he hadn't been trying to keep his mind off of thinking what Jou most likely needed them for. From the first few minutes of watching the other boy he knew he had the main use down. There was never a word spoken.

It was by some unspoken agreement that the end of this meal would also be the end of this meeting. So when all the food had disappeared into either the boys' stomachs or in Jou's clothing they both stood. They both had things they needed to do. Jou grabbed his bag from where he had dropped it by the doorway and followed as Kaiba led the way once again through the mansion to the front door without looking back at the curious puppy. Once Kaiba had opened the front door, Jounouchi immediately started out and down the steps. He almost didn't hear the other say, "You want a ride home mutt?"

Jou stopped instantly, but only turned his head so Kaiba could only see less than half of his face. It must have been the flickering lamp light or maybe just something wrong with his sight, because for an instant, just one moment, it had looked as if Jounouchi's honeyed eyes had faded only to suddenly flash the color of the clearest sky. They were eyes the color of the most distant sky. They were even more beautiful and cold than his own. His own that were the color of the smoothest sea yet riddled with treacherous glaciers.

"Hey… What are you looking at?" Jou asked, fully turning to face him.

Kaiba was shaken out of his moment when he heard the voice that was Jounouchi Katsuya's and yet not his. This voice was softer, gentler, than the harsh and strangely accented one he had known for close to five years. But he brushed that aside and asked again, "You want a ride or not?"

Jou looked at his face for a minute, as if he was pretending to consider it but already knew his answer. Finally he shook his head, the blond hair that was usually so bright, that was now almost a light brown, splayed across his face making him truly look like a puppy. With a small smile he said, "Na. I got a few things to do before I actually go the apartment. And I don't really think you'd want a chuffer loggin' me around, not to suggest that you'd drive me 'yaself. You don't gotta do anything more then just see me off." he paused for a second, the smile faltering but returned just as quick, as if to hide that it _was_ faltering. "We should do this again. You know…just talking. No one else to shake you out of your moment of insanity, 'cause why else would you talk to me seriously when you _were sane?"_

Kaiba opened his mouth, but whether he wanted to object or agree was never decided or found out because Jou just shook his head again. "Too much of a good thing is bad for you." Before Kaiba had a chance to grasp what that meant, Jou turned and started walking away, raising his hand over his head and waving backwards instead of saying goodbye.

Kaiba watched as Jou's slight figure passed the gates and faded into the dark. Then he turned to go back inside to get back to his new project, a new project he had yet to start. He knew that his relationship (if it could even be called that) with Jou had changed, but to what extent he didn't know. It was this small thing, the fact that he did not know about something that had to do with himself, that would keep him up for many nights to come.

As Kaiba thought about the situation, the very object of his thoughts was sprinting through the streets of Domino towards one of the classier (if shady) restaurants. When the _Arella_ came into sight, he stopped for a moment to reflect on what the place meant to him. He sighed deeply as he thought 'This is as good as it's gonna get.' He then walked into the side ally, cursing this place as he looked for the entrance to the kitchen. Once found, he simply pulled out his master key to the place and walked through the now dark back rooms to the manager's office.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by the nauseating sight of his employer in all her glory, surrounded by the dark wood walls, plush carpet and other such office things. She was sitting behind her desk with a knowing look on her face that Jou had already seen to many times and was disgusted by. It seemed that even his most blunt refusals would still not deter this woman from trying to get into his pants. In fact, it only made her attempts more insistent if anything. It wasn't that she wasn't nice to look at. In fact she was quite pretty; beautiful perhaps for someone in their mid-forties, and Jou knew that if he had given into her and accepted her offers, he could have had her woven around his fingers. But he wasn't that type of person. That wasn't the man he wanted to be. He wanted to be better than that, and get what he wanted on his own instead of taking the easy way out by using others and then once their uses were used up, discarding them. He knew he could do it too. That was the worst thing. Because of his somewhat exotic natural beauty, he could probably have whatever he wanted if he talked to the right people. The bad thing was. He knew the right people. Not only did some of them frequent the _Arella, _but he had also personally met them during his Jr. High gang days, and the scum bags had always had certain…_interest _in him. Jou could still recall perfectly when Hirutani had almost sold him to some guy from the Yakuza in exchange for better forms of intimidations (also know as weapons). Now that Jounouchi thought about it, it was most likely that Hirutani was afraid of him taking over command of their rather large group of juvenile delinquents. Like he had ever _wanted_ to. But Jou was now dwelling too much on the past he still couldn't get away from, instead of what was happening right this very moment.

"Listen," he said, not moving from the doorway. "I'm just here ta get my check and then I'm leavin'. It's already more than three weeks late and as much as I hate to say it, I need it. So don't pull any crap and just give me my money."

He knew he should have said it more respectively, seeing as how this was his boss, but right now he didn't care. He needed to get home as soon as possible. _She_ was probably wondering why he wasn't home with her yet. But even so, the women in front of him just continued to smile with malicious purpose. When she finally did speak, Jou was ready to either have to run away screaming. That is… after he had ripped apart the office along with the other occupant.

"You work here with school permission don't you," she said. It wasn't a question and before Jou could say anything she continued. "I have also just found out that you _now_ also have emancipation from your father, who is currently single due to divorce. This was not included in your interview with me when you started working here or afterwards when it was actually granted to you. This is vital information that should not have been left out. I'm curious. Just what would you do if I called your school to tell them that you applied here without telling me this, so that when I called your residence this afternoon to ask why you hadn't been working for the past few days, an old woman with a screaming child answered the phone? Bare in mind that according to the agreement set by the courts and by what your school file says, you are supposed to have an apartment under your name, and that you live there alone. So the question is; what were those two doing in your house if it is common knowledge that your _mother_ and _only_ sister live in America?"

Jou didn't know what to say. He really didn't. How did she know all of that, he hadn't even told his friends that he wasn't living with his father anymore? Why would she _want _to know?

"I just happened to hear that one the reasons you ever got that much is because of your job here so you could support yourself. How would it look if your own boss brought up that even though you were a good kid, you just aren't ready to be on your own? I _could_ say that even though you weren't a good worker, I _have_ always wanted a child no matter the age or look of it. I would be eternally grateful if they left you in my care. If there was a little persuasion by some of the costumers that have been raving about you I'm sure no one would mind."

Anyone would have thought Jou would be standing there with his eyes bugging out with his jaw gaping open. Instead, he was now leaning calmly against the doorjamb, his arms and legs crossed calmly, the 'I'm-so-much-smarter-than-you smirk' that was all but patented by Kaiba, was on his face.

"You could always do that I suppose." he said in a smooth refined voice. His accent just made every word sound more reposed. "But then again, my social worker has known that I have been supporting not only myself but my father since I entered High School, and before that had been adding to our income since I was old enough to take odd-jobs. So what if I've got a criminal record, which is I'm surprised you've failed to mention? I've obviously shown that I'm not into that anymore since I got involved with a magical _cardgame_. And let me ask you this; what would a judge think about a kid whose been just fine for the past four years, suddenly have his own boss say he's not capable at a position he's had many times already, only to hear that the poor kid hasn't been paid his due salary for a few weeks of work and if the boss persists, the kid would like to press charges."

He knew that his plan was almost as badly constructed as hers but that didn't matter. All he had to do was scare her a bit. He didn't even want to know what customers she had bargained with to get this info were, or what she had given or promised them in exchange. With the way she was she had probably promised them a night in the sack with him once she had gotten what shed wanted from him. So just like he'd hoped, the older women predictably blew up.

"Charges? Charges for what?"

"How about taking advantage of workers? Sexual harassment? Your one attempt of statutory rape, (because I should mention that that was _before _my emancipation)? Any one of those will do. They might not lock you up forever, but it will put a stain on not only your reputation, but the already shady rep. of this place, therefore perhaps putting you out of the job."

The women had gradually been losing color during this, but had turned completely white at the thought of losing her_ own _job. She could barley remember the…incident of the last charge. For all she knew, the punk could have some kind of hard evidence to prove it. She did realize that she might still have a chance, but it wasn't worth risk. She would just have to somehow work it out with her accomplices in this.

She swallowed nervously and asked, "But what would stop you from pressing charges against me anyway. You'd get more money from that than from a months missed pay."

Jou shrugged his shoulders and said as if it was obvious, "I need the job. Simple as that. I can't lose this now, find another, and _wait _to see if I'll even _win _the case-because as it's the reason you backed down- there's always the chance I won't. I can't take that chance and I don't have the time. So I will not bring up these nasty not-so-secrets or bring the wrath of your…partners upon your head if you agree to a few conditions."

The women nodded wordlessly, knowing there was no way out of the dark corner she had been backed into.

"There aren't many so they shouldn't be that hard. One: I keep my job, two: you never keep what's mine from me again and the checks must always equal the time I do, three: you do not try to make problems for me with any kind of government, law enforcement, big-name friends, or illegal contacts you may or may not have, and last: you yourself do not attempt anything on me while I am under the employment of this establishment. That's all I need; peace, no trouble, and money. Now if you'll excuse me I have to leave. _With _my check."

She still said nothing as she pulled an envelope from her waistcoat pocket and placed it on the desk. Jou took three long strides towards her, grabbed the envelope, and then sauntered out gracefully, as if to rub in the fact that the aggravating women had lost and could not touch him.

Once out in the toxic city air, Jounouchi again started to trek to his apartment, wrapping his threadbare jacket even closer around his body, as if it would actually protect him from the swiftly chilling weather. But his thoughts quickly became a bit brighter after he had tried to stuff his now numb fingers in his pockets only to find them bursting to the stretched out seams with the food he had taken from Kaiba's.

He had totally forgotten about his hoard as soon as he had walked far enough away from Kaiba's place so that when he turned to look it was nothing but a very large gray shadow. The sad smile that Kaiba had seen earlier, the smile that would break even the sturdiest of heart's walls, now returned as he thought, 'No garbage picking tonight, or for a while I bet. With all this we'll last at least a week and a half. Maybe by then I'll have caught up with all the bills. Maybe then we'll be able to actually go grocery shopping together. …_She_ would like that.'

Seto is of course referring to when Atemu took away the "darkness" of his mind. Even though it was a bad part of him that was he was finally freed from, Seto didn't know how to function without it. He didn't know who he was anymore without that crucial part of himself no longer there. But thankfully he still remained his sexy cynical self -.

A/N: sadly I don't know how much I'll be able to upload in the future couse I'll hopefully be starting collage this fall (I hate being poor . ). I'm sorry if this is a big let down.


End file.
